SWIM Partners

As the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) Program strategically progresses towards an end goal of promoting information-sharing in the National Airspace System (NAS), it is increasingly important that the aviation community join with the SWIM Program as partners in shaping future needs. Through its work, the SWIM Program has endeavored to create a collaborative culture that integrates business and technology through advanced Information Technology (IT) solutions.

As the FAA moves forward with Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) planning, the SWIM Program seeks input from the agency's government and industry partners. Partnerships with industry and other government agencies will enable the SWIM Program to plan and deliver capabilities in a meaningful way - to provide the IT infrastructure necessary for NAS systems to share information, increase interoperability, and encourage reusability of information and services.

SWIM collaborates with a number of organizations, including interested parties from both government and industry, and technical and non-technical audiences. The SWIM stakeholder community is very diverse, ranging from SWIM Implementing Programs (SIPs) to industry groups, from business managers to developers, and from controllers to airlines. Key partners are identified below.

Key Internal Partners

FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC) is the world's premier aviation research and development, and test and evaluation facility. The WJHTC serves as the national scientific test base for the FAA and is also home to the SWIM lab facilities and the NextGen Integration and Evaluation Capability (NIEC), the latter is a consumer of SWIM-compliant data. The WJHTC keeps the SWIM Program and SIPs apprised of systems engineering progress and technical solutions.

FAA NAS Offices provide specialized technical expertise and information. The SWIM program works with the FAA NAS offices to ensure the right technical expertise is engaged for decisions related to safety, security, and other specialized areas.

Key External Partners

Aviation Industry and Trade and Representation Groups represent the aviation community, including government organizations, airlines, airspace users, airport associations, labor unions, and aviation service and equipment suppliers. Through these associations, the SWIM Program is able to not only gain understanding of other aviation industry initiatives but also identify potential subscribers of SWIM-compliant data within industry.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. ICAO codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Implementation of the concepts behind SWIM have been a major topic of discussion at ICAO meetings and the SWIM Program has been providing information to the ICAO and its subgroups on the topic since early 2012.

The FAA and SESAR JU established a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for civil aviation Research and Development (R&D). The primary purpose of the MOC was to create a legal mechanism for NextGen - SESAR collaboration. Included in the MOC is the Coordination Plan (CP) 2.1, which addresses SWIM interoperability and was approved in April 2012.

Asia/Pacific

Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) is the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) in Japan. The FAA and JCAB established the Future Air Transportation System Working Group (FATS WG) to harmonize future US and Japanese air traffic management systems. FATS WG meets twice a year to discuss SWIM and related topics, such as data exchange models. JCAB's Collaborative Actions for Renovation of Air Traffic Systems (CARATS) is analogous to the FAA's NextGen.

In addition, the SWIM Program has held several workshops and demonstrations with its colleagues from AirServices Australia (ASA), the Australian ANSP.